iB    E7t.    S3b 


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First   Lessons 


IN 


FOOD  AND  DIET 


BY 


ELLEN  H.   RICHARDS 

Instructor  in  Sanitary   Chemistry  in  the  Massachusetts    Institute 
of  Technology 


SECOND    PRINTING 


Of  THC 

UNIVERSITY 

Of 
^LIFORHAi- 


WHITCOMB    &    BARROWS 

BOSTON 

1907 


LIBRAEiAN  S  FukO 


COPYRIGHT    1904 
ELLEN   H.   RICHARDS 


Composition  and  Electrotyping  by 
Thomas  Todd,  14  Beacon  Street,  Boston,  Mass. 


INTRODUCTION 

FIRST    LESSONS    IN    FOOD    AND    DIET 

Each  living  thing  has  its  food,  without  which  it  dies. 
This  food  may  vary  within  certain  limits ;  beyond  them 
disease  sets  in,  even  if  life  continues. 

Every  child  who  has  kept  chickens  or  rabbits  knows 
how  carefully  and  regularly  they  need  to  be  fed.  Every 
child  who  has  grown  house  plants  or  cultivated  a  garden 
plot  knows  how  necessary  air,  water,  and  soil  are  for  their 
life  and  growth. 

It  is  only  needful  to  transfer  this  knowledge  to  ourselves 
to  see  that  we,  as  living  beings,  need  our  food  in  the  same 
way;  and  that  air  and  water,  as  well  as  meat  and  milk^ 
sugar  and  eggs,  are  our  foods,  without  which  we  cannot 
live. 

The  baby's  food  is  milk,  which  contains  all  the  sub- 
stances needed  except  oxygen  of  the  air.  This  must  be 
breathed  in  through  the  lungs.  To  milk  is  added  for  the 
child  of  two  years  starch  in  various  forms,  rice,  potatoes,, 
wheat  bread,  corn  mush,  etc.  For  the  six  years  old  there 
are  added  a  few  fruits  and  vegetables,  eggs  and  a  very  little 
meat. 


r%A  A  nOQ 


2  Food  and  Diet 

are  destructive ;  they  usually  work  on  dead  mat- 
ter, reducing  it  to  a  condition  to  serve  again  as 
food  for  the  green  plants.  At  least  they  are 
found  wherever  decay  is  going  on.  A  bit  of 
apple,  a  leaf,  a  piece  of  cheese,  left  out  in  damp 
air  "  molds,"  as  we  say.  These  various  molds 
are  little  plants  doing  their  best  to  make  the 
material  ready  for  grass  or  apple  tree  food  again. 

Animals,  man  included,  are  made  up  of  mil- 
lions of  small  cells,  which  do  their  work  in  a 
like  manner.  They  live  upon  the  ready  pre- 
pared substances  which  the  blood  stream  carries 
to  them  and  change  this  material  to  forms  which 
the  green  plants  can  use  again,  giving  off  CO2, 
water,  ammonia,  etc.  These  cells,  like  the  molds 
and  other  destructive  plants,  can  live  on  either 
vegetable  or  animal  matter,  that  is,  we  can  eat 
either  lettuce,  peas,  corn,  apples,  or  meat,  and 
derive  health  and  strength  *from  them  all,  but, 
like  the  green  plants,  we  must  have  water  in 
abundance  and  air,  only  we  take  oxygen  from 
the  air  and  give  back  to  it  the  carbon  dioxide 
which  the  green  plants  need. 

In  the  course  of  this  transformation  in  the 
living  cells,  some  of  the  energy  which  the  sun- 
light gave  to  the  plant  that  was  eaten  is  released, 


Lesson   I  3^ 

and  our  bodies  make  use  of  this  energy  to  keep 
warm,  to  work,  think,  and  feel. 

The  source  of  bodily  heat,  of  human  energy 
and  power  to  work,  is  in  the  chemical  changes 
which  the  food,  whether  animal  or  vegetable, 
undergoes  in  the  cells  and  tissues  of  the  body. 

ILLUSTRATIVE    MATERIAL    FOR    THE    FIRST    LESSON 

1.  A  growing  plant  or  several  of  a  kind; 
one  allowed  to  go  without  water,  another  covered 
tightly  by  a  bell  jar  or  inverted  bottle,  and  one 
cared  for  and  watered  most  carefully. 

2.  An  aquarium  with  gold  fish,  or  a  cage 
with  a  toad  to  be  fed  with  flies,  or  some  other 
animal  to  be  cared  for. 

3.  Bread  or  cheese,  leaves  or  fruit,  allowed 
to  mold  under  another  bell  jar. 

4.  Oats  or  corn  planted  in  the  pores  of  a 
moist  sponge  placed  in  the  top  of  a  tumbler  or 
jar  two-thirds  filled  with  water. 

5.  A  magnifying  glass  or  a  microscope  is 
helpful.  If  at  hand,  show  the  cells  from  the 
amoeba  of  the  mouth  and  blood  corpuscles, 
also  the  miscellaneous  organisms  from  stagnant 
water. 

6.  Yeasts  and  various  fermenting  solutions. 


LESSON    II 

pVERYTHING  is  food  for  something  else, 
^  each  after  its  kind;  and  matter,  carbon,  oxy- 
gen, hydrogen,  and  nitrogen,  for  instance,  is  kept 
circulating  like  gold  and  silver,  which  is  now 
made  into  amulets  and  images,  now  lining  drink- 
ing cups,  now  buried  in  the  earth,  now  stamped 
as  coin  and  passing  from  hand  to  hand  until 
melted  and  worked  into  rings  again.  It  is  gold 
or  silver  all  the  while. 

The  food  of  mankind  is  to  be  here  con- 
sidered, and  we  begin  with  the  earliest  and 
simplest,  the  food  of  the  infant,  milk. 

This  is  chiefly  composed  of  five  great  classes 
of  food  stuffs,  classes  we  shall  find  in  all  natural 
food  materials. 

I.  Water;  eighty-seven  per  cent,  more  than 
three-fourths  of  the  whole,  and  we  shall  find  that 
our  food  must  always  contain  a  large  amount  of 
water,  or  if  it  does  not,  that  we  must  drink 
liquids  to  make  up  the  amount. 


Lesson   II  5 

2.  The  curd  of  the  milk;  which  contains 
not  only  casein  but  albumen  and  other  proteids.^ 
This  class  of  substance  is  also  found  in  all  living 
things,  whether  animal  or  vegetable. 

3.  Fat ;  which  we  know  best  as  cream  or 
butter.  This  is  also  common  to  both  vegetable 
and  animal  substances,  as  olive  oil  and  fat  of  meat. 

4.  Sugar;  dissolved  in  the  water  of  the  milk 
so  that  we  do  not  recognize  it  at  once.  Except 
this  sugar  of  milk,  most  sugars  are  derived  from 
the  juices  of  plants  and  their  fruits,  but  so  abun- 
dant and  universal  are  these  that  all  races  of 
mankind  have  sugar  in  their  diet. 

5.  Mineral  salts ;  also  dissolved  in  the  water 
of  milk,  so  that  we  do  not  think  about  them  in 
that  form.  Salt,  as  we  put  it  on  our  food,  and 
the  fertilizer  we  water  plants  with  are  instances 
of  mineral  food.  The  mineral  salts  are  as  need- 
ful for  the  life  of  the  cell  as  the  other  classes. 
As  has  been  proved  by  experiment,  it  is  not 
difficult  to  learn  the  composition  of  milk  and  the 
amount  of  the  various  substances  which  the  child 
requires. 

The  infant  in  the  first  weeks  sleeps  quietly 

iProteid  and  protein  are  terms  used  to  designate  those  nitrog- 
enous substances  which  in  some  way  not  yet  clearly  understood  are 
essential  to  life  or  living  matter. 


6  Food  and  Diet 

most  of  the  time  and  gains  in  weight  rapidly, 
has  doubled  by  the  end  of  the  third  month,  and 
trebled  by  the  end  of  one  year. 

As  activity  increases,  more  of  the  food  is 
devoted  to  energy  —  power  to  move  arms  and 
legs,  and  so  great  is  this  demand  that  in  the 
second  year  the  child  adds  only  one-fifth  to  its 
weight,  during  the  third  year  one-tenth,  and 
from  the  age  of  four  until  eight  or  ten  years 
old  the  child  gains  only  about  four  pounds  a 
year  in  weight,  but  very  greatly  in  strength  and 
control  of  muscles  and  nerves. 

At  first  the  infant  takes  about  one-seventh 
its  weight  daily  in  food,  twenty-four  to  thirty- 
two  ounces  of  milk  (at  the  end  of  the  second 
week  500  grams,  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  800 
grams,  at  the  end  of  the  twentieth  950  grams). 


The  Average  Percentage   Composition  of  200  Samples  of 
Human  Milk 


Water. 

Fat. 

Nitrogenous 
substances. 

Sugar. 

Salts. 

87.41 

3.78 

2.29 

6.21 

0.31 

The  Average  of  800  Analyses  of  Cows'  Milk 
87.17        1        3.69         I  3.55  I        4.88         I        0.71 


Lesson  II  7 

It  will  be  seen  that  cows'  milk  is  not  an 
exact  substitute  for  mothers'  milk,  and  if  diluted 
it  is  still  less  so,  since  the  proportions  are  not 
the  same.  The  potassium  salts  which  seem  so 
necessary  to  the  building  up  of  the  blood  cor- 
puscles and  body  tissue  are  deficient  as  well  as 
the  fat.  A  favorite  recommendation  of  physi- 
cians is  to  allow  fresh,  clean  milk  to  stand,  pro- 
tected from  dust,  on  ice  or  in  a  cold  place  for 
four  or  five  hours,  and  then  pour  off  the  upper 
third,  ten  ounces,  from  a  quart  (if  more  fat  is 
desired,  then  only  six  ounces),  add  twenty  ounces 
of  sterilized  whey,  which  contains  the  sugar  and 
mineral  salts  of  the  whole  milk  with  some  albu- 
men. To  give  the  potassium  salts,  barley  broth 
is  frequently  used  after  the  first  weeks.  A  well- 
strained,  transparent  barley  broth  contains  not 
over  one  per  cent  of  starch.  At  the  age  of  a 
few  months  veal  broth,  which  contains  lime  salts, 
is  frequently  given,  and  if  the  milk  is  poor  must 
be  used  if  the  material  for  the  bones  is  to  be 
furnished.  If  milk  whey  is  not  used,  then  milk 
sugar  dissolved  in  water  is  added,  for  the  child 
needs  more  heat-giving  food  than  the  adult, 
since    his    bodily   surface,    from    which    heat   is 


8  Food  and  Diet 

being  lost,  is  three  times  as  much  in  proportion 
to  his  weight,  and  he  is  more  active  and  uses 
relatively  more  energy. 

All  food  for  infants  must  be  carefully  pro- 
tected from  the  destructive  plants  before  referred 
to.  These  plants  are  in  the  air  everywhere  ;  are 
more  plentiful  in  warm,  dusty  places,  and  as 
milk  is  a  most  attractive  food  for  them,  it  must 
be  kept  cold  and  covered. 

For  extended  treatment  of  infants'  feeding, 
see  such  books  as  Holt's,  Griffith's  and  others. 

ILLUSTRATIVE    MATERIAL    FOR    THE    SECOND    LESSON 

Milk,  whole,  diluted,  top  milk  ;  calculations  of 
food  values  of  a  pint  of  the  various  sorts.  The 
principles  of  these  calculations  should  be  thor- 
oughly learned  at  this  point  to  serve  as  a  foun- 
dation for  future  work. 

Tests  by  means  of  simple  apparatus  at  hand. 
Specific  gravity,  fat  by  some  of  the  lactoscopes 
or  by  a  Babcock  testing  machine. 

If  a  laboratory  is  at  hand,  test  for  sugar, 
phosphates,  and  albumen. 

Examination  of  bones  for  mineral  salts  and 
organic  matter. 


LESSON    III 

BY  the  end  of  the  child's  first  year  the  saliva 
has  increased,  and  thereby  the  power  of 
forming  sugar  from  starch  has  been  gained  (for 
a  child  under  six  months  of  age  starchy  foods 
are  indigestible),  and  as  the  teeth  appear  some 
solid  food  is  permissible.  But  the  mucous  mem- 
brane is  very  sensitive,  and  the  whole  bodily 
structure  is  very  delicate  and  easily  injured. 

All  indications  point  to  a  simple,  non-stimu- 
lating, fairly  monotonous  diet.  The  child  at  the 
breast  receives  the  same  food  day  after  day,  and 
the  pleasures  of  the  table  do  not  appeal  to  nor 
agree  with  the  young  child.  No  "  sweets,"  des- 
serts, or  delicacies  are  needed,  but  the  quanti- 
ties of  food  must  be  relatively  larger  as  the 
child  grows  older  to  supply  the  activity  which 
promotes  growth. 

The  child  has  no  reserves  of  stored  food  and 
little  excess  of  digestive  power,  so  cannot  bear 
deprivation  or  excess  without  injury.  In  fact 
he  is  in  a  state  of  very  delicate  balance  of  forces 
which  may  be  easily  disturbed. 

9 


lo  '      Food  and  Diet 

In  the  second  year  the  food  should  continue 
to  be  chiefly  milk  with  some  broth,  but  always 
fluid  or  soft  solids.  There  should  not  be 
allowed  in  the  diet  any  of  the  following  sub- 
stances or  their  relatives:  cellulose,  mineral  or 
strong  acids,  coffee,  tea,  spice,  made  dishes,  sal- 
ads, etc.  A  little  breast  of  fowl,  rice  cooked  in 
milk,  white  bread,  are  sufficient  additions. 

The  child  of  three  to  six  years  old  need  not 
be  confined  to  fluids,  but  the  food  should  still 
contain  much  water,  broths  rather  than  meat, 
ripe,  sub-acid  fruits,  weak  cocoa  occasionally,  oat- 
meal and  wheat  preparations  strained  after  cook- 
ing to  eliminate  the  cellulose.  Eggs,  especially 
the  yolks,  are  valuable.  If  the  yolks  are  cooked 
separately  they  may  be  boiled  hard  so  that  they 
crumble  to  powder,  which  is  not  only  more 
digestible  but  more  acceptable  to  most  children 
than  the  running  yolk. 

ILLUSTRATIVE     MATERIAL    FOR     THE     THIRD     LESSON 

For  practice  in  making  up  bills  of  fare  and 
for  learning  the  composition  of  some  common 
food  substances,  the  following  tables  are  taken 
from  "The  Cost  of  Food."^ 

i"The  Cost  of  Food."     Ellen  H.  Richards. 


Lesson  III 


II 


TABLE   V 
One  Day's  Menu  for  a  Child  of  Six  to  Nine  Years  of  Age 


Required. 

i 

i 

Is 

Hi 
III 

% 

6^ 

One  and  one-half  pint  milk    .    . 

One-half  pound  bread     .... 

One-eighth  pound  dry  rice  (one- 
half  pound  cooked)    .... 

Four  ounces  orange 

Two  ounces  egg 

One-half  ounce  butter 

679.0 
226.8 

56.6 

114.0 

56.6 

14.0 

88.8 
147.0 

51.5 
41.7 
13.5 
12.5 

22.3 
20.3 

5.4 
0.5 
7.3 
0.1 

27.1 
2.7 

0.3 

0.1 

5.3 

11.9 

33.9 

119.8 

45.4 
9.7 

1147.0 

355.0 

55.9 

47.4 

208.8 

At  average  prices  this  would  cost  twelve  to 
thirteen  cents. 

Estimated  Daily  Quantities  of  Necessary  Food 


^ 

1 

1 

11. 
Ill 

1 

pq 

H 

Q 

"A 

to 

Girl  of  four  .    . 

13.3 

1203 

197 

44.8 

41.5 

102.7 

Boy  of  six  .    .    . 

18.0 

1560 

311 

63.7 

45.8 

197.3 

Girl  of  nine   .    . 

22.7 

1660 

328 

61.3 

47.0 

207.7 

12 


Food  and  Diet 


TABLE   VI 
Approximate  Composition  of  Some  Common  Food  Materials 


One  pound  contains 


Apples 

Barley  (pearled) 

Beef  (round) 

Beef  juice  (as  purchased)  . 
Beef  juice  (as  it  should  be) 
Bouillon  and  consomme    . 

Bread  (white) 

Butter 

Cheese  (American  pale)     . 

Chicken 

Cream 

Cream  soup 


Eggs  (whole)    .    .    .    . 
Eggs  (yolk)      .    .    .    . 

Lentil  meal 

Milk  (whole)    .    .    .    , 
Mutton  (leg)     .    .    .    . 

Oatmeal 

Peas  (sugar),  shelled  . 

Potatoes 

Prunes  (dried)      .    .    . 

Raisins 

Rice 

Wheatlet , 


25.0 


34.8 
10.5* 


18.0 


20.0 
15.0 
10.0 


61.5 

10.8 

64.2 

93.0 

88.0 

96.0 

35.4 

11.0 

31.6 

48.5 

74.0 

87.4 

66.0 

49.5 

10.73 

87.0 

51.4 

7.2 
81.8 
62.0 
19.0 
14.0 

9.0 
10.4 


1.8 
42.2 
86.0 
22.2 
31.0 
11.0 
43.1 

4.5 
130.6 
67.0 
10.3 
23.5 
59.4 
71.5 
115.5 
14.9 
67.5 
70.0 
15.4 

8.0 

8.6 
11.3 
43.0 
55.9 


1.8 

4.5 

32.2 

2.7 


5.4 

385.0 

162.8 

5.0 

84.0 

14.5 

43.1 

151.0 

8.7 

18.1 

67.5 

33.0 

1.8 

0.4 

*13.6 
2.3 
6.3 


2 


56.0 
352.0 


1.8 
239.5 

i.4 

*20.6 
25.0 


260.0 
22.7 

308.0 
62.1 
69.0 
282.0 
310.7 
363.0 
340.0 


255 

1660 

650 

115 

127 

55 

1205 

3504 

2060 

325 

865 

285 

645 

1705 

1620 

325 

905 

1860 

335 

325 

1189 

1445 

1685 

1685 


From  these  tables  or  from  Bulletin  No.  28, 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Office 
of  Experiment  Stations,  or  Farmers'  Bulletin 
No.   142,  revised  edition,  at   least  half   a  dozen 


Lesson  III  13 

bills  of  fare  should  be  made,  showing  the  various 
combinations  possible  with  these  few  substances. 
A  besrinnino:  is  here  made  in  the  recoQ^nition 
of  the  value  of  a  given  food  as  a  producer  of 
energy.  The  word  potato  or  apple  should  bring 
up  to  the  mind  not  only  the  shape,  size,  and 
color,  but  the  part  in  the  diet  it  may  play. 


LESSON    IV 

THE    SCHOOL    LUNCHEON 

THE  digestion  of  healthy  children  of  seven  to 
fourteen  years  old  is  good ;  the  period  is  one 
of  great  growth,  demanding  a  gain  of  from  five 
to  twelve  grams  per  day.  Half  the  nitrogenous 
food  may  be  of  animal  origin.  Fat  is  absolutely 
necessary  at  this  age,  and  when  the  coarser 
forms  are  repulsive,  great  care  must  be  taken 
to  give  it  in  a  delicate  or  concealed  form. 

The  incessant  activity  of  the  child  in  the 
open  air  if  left  to  himself  permits  the  ready 
assimilation  of  whatever  comes  to  hand,  but 
when  confined  in  the  too  often  stuffy  school- 
room, the  food  should  be  selected  with  knowl- 
edge. The  school  luncheon  should  be  super- 
vised with  as  great  care  as  the  food  of  the  infant. 
A  few  simple  rules,  if  followed  out  intelligently, 
will  enable  the  mother  or  provider  to  furnish  a 
suitable  lunch. 

The  food  should  be  such  as  can  be  readily 


Lesson  IV  15 

assimilated,  that  is,  it  should  not  be  concentrated, 
as  fried  meat  or  doughnuts  or  rich  cake  or 
pastry,  and  it  should  not  be  highly  spiced.  It 
may  contain  some  sugar,  as  in  ice  cream,  because 
sugar  is  soluble,  and  if  not  eaten  in  too  large 
quantities  (an  ounce  at  a  time),  is  readily 
digested.  There  should  be  some  starchy  food^ 
because  starch  is  converted  slowly  and  furnishes 
energy  over  a  longer  period  of  time  than  sugar* 
The  food  should  be  appetizing  and  attractively 
displayed,  or,  if  taken  from  home,  put  up  neatly- 
A  study  of  the  accompanying  diagram  and 
its  use  in  calculation  will  be  most  helpful  to  the 
student  in  future  work.  This  diagram  is  only 
an  approximate  statement  of  observed  facts. 
The  value  of  such  generalizations  lies  in  the 
number  of  observations  upon  which  they  are 
based,  and  in  this  case  they  are  too  few  for  a 
final  decision.  Further,  the  facts  are  from 
German  sources  almost  exclusively,  because  no 
others  gave  the  whole  series;  and  it  seemed 
better  to  adhere  to  a  uniform  standard  of  calcula- 
tion in  view  of  the  great  gaps  in  our  knowledge. 
It  is  given  in  this  imperfect  state  in  order  to 
induce  a  fuller  study  of  the  question. 


F      p      f      *      p      s 


9^^ 


P 


ciiWV'h  z  'My'^Miviq' 


Lesson  IV  17 

From  what  we  do  know  of  the  American 
standards,  it  seems  probable  that  the  curve  of 
carbohydrates  would  be  less  marked,  and  that 
the  curve  of  fats  would  be  nearly  coincident  with 
that  of  the  proteids,  except  in  that  part  showing 
the  amount  from  the  tenth  to  the  twentieth  year, 
if  drawn  to  represent  American  practice. 

The  steepness  of  the  curve  of  carbohydrates 
shows  the  need  of  a  full  supply  of  the  material 
which  serves  as  the  source  of  power  for  the  very 
great  activity  of  youth.  The  child  naturally 
runs  all  day  long;  the  activity,  the  amount  of 
work  done,  is  enormously  in  excess  of  that  done 
in  after  life,  aimless  though  it  may  seem.  It  is 
none  the  less  work  because  it  is  work  of  heart 
and  lungs,  and  muscular  exercise  in  play.  It  is 
useful  work,  in  that  it  builds  up  a  structure  for 
the  grown  man  to  use ;  it  is  the  building  time, 
and  the  building  cannot  be  well  made,  strongly 
put  together,  without  it.  This  intense  activity 
is  required  for  the  metabolism^  of  the  tissue, 
which  is  also  rapid,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  curve 
of   proteid.     If   the  weight  of  the  individual  at 

1  Metabolism.  The  cycle  including  both  anabolism,  the  synthetic 
building  up  of  tissue,  and  katabolism,  the  breaking  down  of  that  which 
has  been  formed.     In  other  words,  the  chemical  process  of  living. 


1 8  Food  and  Diet 

different    ages   were    taken    into   account,    this 
would  be  even  more  marked. 

It  may  be  advisable  to  begin  a  discussion  of 
the  cost  of  material  at  this  point,  but  food  is 
of  such  importance  to  the  child  that  we  should 
be  careful  in  emphasizing  that  question  too  early 
in  our  studies. 

ILLUSTRATIVE    MATERIAL    FOR    THE    FOURTH    LESSON 

This  may  be  in  the  form  of  five  or  ten 
lunches  which  the  class  will  agree  upon  as  de- 
sirable. A  discussion  of  these  as  fulfilling  the 
requirement  of  the  diagram  and,  if  time  per- 
mits, a  calculation  of  the  food  value  from  the 
tables  in  the  "Dietary  Computer,"^  or  Bulletin 
28,  or  Farmer's  Bulletin    142. 

1  The  "  Dietary  Computer."    Ellen  H.  Richards  and  L.  H.  Williams. 


^^  Of   TH€  ^^ 

UNIVERSITY 


LESSON    V 


WHAT    shall  we    eat   as  a  family  ?     What 
shall  our  daily  fare  include  ? 

If  we  look  back  in  history  and  ask  what  early 
man  ate,  we  find  evidences  in  the  caves  and 
mounds  left  behind  him  that  he  ate  other  ani- 
mals, grains,  roots,  fruits,  just  as  we  do,  and  of 
the  same  kinds  as  the  people  living  in  the  same 
conditions  do  today.  In  Asia  rice  for  bread,  in 
Peru  corn  and  yams,  in  North  America  fish, 
berries,  and  roots,  in  the  islands  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  cocoanuts  and  breadfruit. 

We  of  today  have  a  choice  of  all  these  things 
brought  to  our  markets,  and  we  have  not  the 
protection  of  race  habits  to  keep  us  from  eating 
the  wrong  thing  or  to  show  us  the  right  quantity 
of  the  right  thing.  The  early  peoples  had  an 
abundance  of  one  kind  of  food  of  which  we 
certainly  deprive  ourselves  —  air  —  and  this  lack 
is  the  cause  of  much,  if  not  of  most,  of  our  ill 
health. 

19 


20  Food  and  Diet 

The  early  peoples  had  to  work  and  often 
work  hard  for  their  food,  and  hence  did  not 
often  get  too  much  of  it.  We  have  food  set 
before  us  in  such  abundance  and  variety  that 
we  overeat  without  knowing  it.  This  causes  so 
many  of  the  illnesses  from  which  modern  man 
suffers,  that,  barring  accidents,  it  may  be  said 
that  if  we  are  ill  or  ill  tempered,  it  is  likely  to 
to  be  our  food  which  is  at  fault  in  some  of  the 
many  ways  we  have  indicated. 

It  is  well  worth  our  while,  then,  to  study 
food  and  food  substances  in  order  that  we  may 
know  what  to  value  and  what  to  avoid.  There 
are  many  ways  of  learning  these  lessons.  Here 
we  will  take  up  only  a  few  general  principles, 
leaving  the  more  detailed  study  to  a  later  stage. 

Keeping  the  order  taken  in  the  examination 
•of  the  five  classes  of  food  in  milk,  namely,  i, 
water ;  2,  proteid ;  3,  fat ;  4,  sugar,  carbohydrate  ; 
5,  mineral  salts;  we  first  ask  what  foods  contain 
at  least  three-fourths  of  their  weight  of  water  .^^ 
To  name  only  those  most  commonly  found  on 
our  tables,  we  find  the  following: 


Lesson    V 

apricots 

milk 

asparagus 

onions 

blackberries 

oysters 

cabbage 

pears 

celery 

potatoes,  boiled 

cherries 

strawberries 

cream 

string  beans 

cucumbers 

tomatoes 

green  corn 

tripe 

21 


We  next  wish  to  know  what  common  food 
stuffs  contain  the  proteids  or  second  class  in  at 
least  as  great  an  amount  as  milk?  To  make 
the  statement  general,  we  find  the  following  to 
be  true : 


Animal  Origin 

Vegetable  Origin 

all  the  meats 

all  the  cereals 

all  fish 

all  breads  and  crackers 

all  cheese 

dried  apricots 

eggs 

dried  figs 

all  nuts 

chocolate 

beans 

peas 

lentils 

22  Food  and  Diet 

Food  nutrients  in  the  third  class  which  con- 
tain as  much  or  more  fat  than  does  milk: 

Animal  Origin  Vegetable  Origin 

all  meats,  except  very  lean  oatmeal 

only  a  few  fish,  like  catfish  corn  meal 

and  salmon  crackers 

butter  chestnuts 

cream  peanuts 

cheese  cocoanuts 

eggs  walnuts 

Food  substances  in  the  fourth  class  which 
contain  as  much  or  more  sugar  as  is  found  in 
milk : 

Vegetable 
honey  syrups 

dried  fruits  beets 

ripe  bananas 

But  the  adult  has  added  starch  to  the  sugar. 
This  is  not  really  in  a  separate  class, "  because 
both  come  under  the  general  term,  carbohy- 
drates. Also  starch  yields  a  sugar  —  must,  in 
fact,  be  changed  to  sugar  before  it  is  a  food  for 
the  human  body. 


Lesson    V  23 

It  belongs  to  the  concentrated  food  stuffs, 
and  is  found  in  the  seeds  of  the  .grains  put  up 
to  keep.  Before  we  eat  it  we  cook  starch  in 
much  water,  as  cereals,  or  drink  much  water,  as 
when  we  eat  crackers. 

Food  stuffs  of  the  fifth  class  which  contain 
as  much  or  more  mineral  salts  as  does  milk  are : 


Animal 

Vegetable 

all  lean  meats 

most  cereals 

cheese 

most  vegetables 

eggs 

most  fruits 

If  we  select  the  names  of  food  stuffs  which 
appear  in  all  five  classes,  we  shall  have  those 
materials  which  are  sufficient  of  themselves  for 
food,  because  they  contain  all  the  essential  sub- 
stances, but  they  are  very  few.  If  we  next  select 
those  which  appear  in  the  last  four  classes,  we 
shall  have  those  which,  with  the  addition  of 
water,  will  serve  as  complete  foods  capable  of 
sustaining  efficient  life. 

For  the  rest,  they  must  be  mixed,  some  from 
one  class  and  some  from  another,  not  only  from 
this  list  but  from  the  thousand  listed  food 
materials.     Our  food  is  usually  so  mixed. 


24  Food  aiid  Diet 

This  larger  list  contains,  however,  a  large 
number  of  needful  and  desirable  substances 
whose  food  value,  in  the  sense  we  have  been 
using  it,  is  nothing  or  very  small.  They  are 
called  food  accessories,  and  by  their  flavor  they 
act  upon  the  senses  of  man,  so  that  he  secures 
for  himself  the  food  value  locked  up  in  the 
nutritive  materials  we  have  been  studying.  The 
German  scientist  calls  these  additions  to  our  diet 
"pleasure  giving  things."  Condiments,  flavors, 
and  spices  play  a  large  part  in  the  art  of  cookery. 

It  is  quite  right  that  we  should  find  pleasure 
in  our  food  as  in  anything  else,  if  only  we  do  not 
make  it  all  pleasure  and  no  profit:  if  we  do 
not  produce  more  evils  than  we  realize  good. 

Condiments  too  often  result  in  over-stimula- 
tion of  the  secretions,  and  thus  cause  the  eating 
of  more  food  than  the  body  needs. 

ILLUSTRATIVE    MATERIAL    FOR    THE    FIFTH    LESSON 

Cereals,  rice,  etc. ;  dried  fruits ;  extracted  oils. 

Exercises  making  out  lists  of  ten  foods  of 
equal  heat  giving  value,  expressed  in  calories,^  but 
of  different  composition. 

1 A  calorie  is  a  unit  measure  of  heat  used  to  denote  the  energy- 
giving  power  of  food. 


Lesson    V 


25 


Samples  of  spices,  condiments,  etc. 

Make  lists  of  condiments,  with  a  study  of 
their  action,  for  which  see  "  The  Spirit  of 
Cookery,''  Thudichum,  p.  86. 

The  student  should  learn  the  approximate 
value  of  the  one  hundred  common  food  materials 
on  the  market;  that  is,  should  be  able  to  say 
whether  there  is  ten  or  fifty  per  cent  of  starch, 
fat,  etc.,  in  a  given  article  as  bought. 


H 


LESSON   VI 

DAILY    FOOD 

AVING  learned  something  of  the  natural 
food  materials,  we  must  now  study  diet,  or 
that  which  goes  to  the  table,  for  it  is  rarely  in 
its  natural  form  or  as  a  simple  food  stuff.  Fresh 
fruit,  as  apples,  bananas,  oranges  or  nuts,  rad- 
ishes, celery,  plain  boiled  potatoes  are  set  before 
us  with  little  or  no  change  in  form  or  composition, 
and  are  eaten  with  the  addition  of  salt  or  sugar 
only. 

Uncooked  lettuce  and  cucumbers  are  dressed 
with  salad  oil.  The  fig,  raisin,  and  date  have 
been  dried,  and  so  lost  the  water  they  once  con- 
tained, while  rice  and  oatmeal,  once  dry,  have 
had  three  times  their  weight  of  water  added 
before  they  are  put  on  the  table.  Many  made 
dishes  contain  a  dozen  ingredients. 

The  one  thing  to  bear  in  mind  is  that  during 
the  day  or  week  we  need  the  right  amount  of  all 
the  classes  of  food  that  the  baby  gets  in  its  milk, 

26 


Lesson    VI  27 

and  starch  in  addition.  But  grown  people  can- 
not have  their  food  weighed  and  measured  out  to 
them  as  the  baby  has,  both  because  it  is  so  com- 
plicated and  because,  while  all  babies  are  so 
much  alike,  sleeping  most  of  the  time,  grown 
people  are  very  different  from  each  other  in  their 
work  and  in  their  play  and  in  their  health  (alas, 
that  it  should  be  so),  for  most  of  them  have  hurt 
their  bodies  in  some  way,  so  that  they  cannot  do 
what  the  truly  well  person  should  be  able  to 
do.  Hence,  diet  must  vary  for  the  different 
members  of  the  same  family  unless  they  are 
normally  well  people,  but  no  one  should  allow 
himself  to  become  whimsical  and  full  of  imagi- 
nary notions.  It  is  found  that  most,  although 
not  all,  the  objections  people  make  to  certain 
foods  are  without  any  foundation.  The  evils  are 
mostly  imaginary. 

Because  one  person  ate  a  green  banana  and 
it  distressed  him,  he  eschews  all  bananas  ever 
after.  One  may  have  eaten  of  veal  pie  when 
very  tired  or  cold,  and  because  a  severe  attack  of 
indigestion  followed,  the  blame  is  laid  upon  the 
innocent  dish. 

Of  these  five  classes  of  foods,  then,  a  person 


28  Food  mid  Diet 

needs  daily  about  one  hundred  grams  of  dry 
proteid  or  nitrogenous  food,  about  the  same  of 
fat,  and  about  four  times  as  much  starch  and 
sugar  and  other  carbohydrates,  or,  in  ounces, 
about  four  each  of  proteid  and  of  fat,  and  fifteen 
ounces  of  carbohydrates,  provided  he  has  plenty  of 
that  other  essential  food,  oxygen,  in  fresh  air,  and 
that  he  takes  exercise  enough  to  keep  the  blood 
stream  flowing  freely,  so  as  to  carry  the  prepared 
food,  sufficiently  diluted,  to  the  little  living  cells 
referred  to  in  the  first  lesson,  and  to  bring 
away  the  broken  up  stuff  they  do  not  want,  and 
which  will  hurt  the  body  if  it  is  not  quickly 
brought  away. 

The  quantity  of  food  eaten  does  not  always 
correspond  to  the  amount  the  body  uses,  hence 
the  great  differences  found  in  the  estimates  dif- 
ferent authorities  have  made.  It  is  noticeable 
that  the  largest  eaters  are  neither  very  hard 
workers  nor  very  stout  persons.  Some  active, 
powerful  individuals  are  small  eaters ;  they  often 
say  they  live  on  air,  which  is  in  a  measure  true. 
The  food  taken  is  burned  up  to  the  last  morsel 
and  gives  its  energy  to  the  body.  Not  only 
plenty  of  air  (brought  into  the  lungs  by  exercise) 


Lesson    VI  29 

but  plenty  of  water  is  needed  for  good  utilization 
of  the  food  eaten.  The  reason  for  this  is  that 
all  chemical  changes  go  on  more  rapidly  and 
completely  in  dilute  solutions.  Water  is  essen- 
tial to  those  processes  by  which  the  body  is 
nourished.  To  use  up  the  amount  of  dry  food 
indicated  on  page  28  about  six  pounds,  or  three 
quarts,  of  water  are  needed.  As  has  been 
shown,  all  this  water  may  be  in  the  food  as 
eaten,  or  varying  portions  may  be  taken  as 
drink.  If  there  is  too  little,  some  of  the  food 
will  pass  out  unused  and  some  will  undergo 
the  wrong  decompositions  and  cause  irrita^on 
and  finally  disease.  That  is  why  so  many  <|^^^ 
the  "  cures  "  are  water  cures  and  fruit  cures.  If 
a  person  is  sent  to  live  on  grapes  for  a  month 
it  means  a  large  amount  of  water  is  taken.  The 
visits  to  mineral  springs  include  much  fresh  air 
and  exercise  with  the  drinking  of  large  amounts 
of  water.  The  time  of  taking  this  water,  with 
reference  to  the  meal,  belongs  to  the  physician 
to  determine.  It  is  governed  by  the  quantity 
and  strength  of  the  gastric  juice  the  individual 
secretes.  We  are  concerned  with  keeping  welU 
and  the  lesson  we  should  learn  is  to  eat  fruits 


30  Food  and  Diet 

which  contain  water  naturally,  vegetables,  and 
foods  which  have  taken  up  much  water,  as  rice 
and  cereals.  If  we  do  have  dry  and  concentrated 
food,  like  crackers  and  cheese  or  pastry,  much 
fluid  must  be  drunk  with  it. 

Much  pains  should  be  taken  to  work  out  a 
satisfactory  system  of  diet,  for  man  is  his  own 
power  producer.  He  must  manufacture  his  own 
energy.  It  cannot  be  pumped  into  him.  His 
body  cannot  be  charged  at  certain  stations  as 
can  an  electric  automobile.  His  energy  is  de- 
veloped inside  of  him  by  all  the  tiny  cells  to 
which  the  blood  stream  carries  food.  If  he  is 
not  energetic,  then  his  m^hinery  is  not  doing 
its  duty. 

Each  person's  diet  must,  therefore,  furnish 
the  material  for  this  energy  in  such  form  that 
the  body  can  set  it  free. 

ILLUSTRATIVE    MATERIAL   FOR    THE    SIXTH    LESSON 

Meaning  of  energy  and  work,  calorie,  osmose 
through  membrane,  illustrated  by  one  per  cent 
sugar  solution,  etc.  See  elementary  works  on 
physics,  physiological  chemistry,  etc.  Release 
of   energy   through    chemical    action,    batteries. 


Lesson    VI  31 

Solution  of  metals  by  dilute  acids.  When  strong 
have  no  effect.  Show  a  day's  ration:  100  grams 
dried  meat  or  egg  (allow  for  the  water  they 
still  contain);  100  grams  of  fat  (not  butter  unless 
it  has  been  melted  and  freed  from  water  and 
curd) ;  400-I-  grams  of  starch  and  sugar.  Trans- 
late these  into  a  day's  ration  as  it  goes  to  the 
table. 


LESSON   VII 

THERE  are  three  reasons  why  the  matter  of 
diet  is  not  so  simple  as  the  last  lesson  made 
it  appear. 

1.  Food  is  liable  to  be  injured,  rather  than 
made  more  digestible,  by  cooking. 

2.  Substances  are  often  eaten  together  which 
do  not  make  a  good  mixture  for  the  blood  stream 
to  carry  to  the  little  cells.  The  latter  may  be 
severely  injured,  poisoned,  as  we  say,  and  the 
person  will  be  very  ill  —  have  an  attack  of  cholera 
morbus  or  severe  pain  —  colic,  perhaps,  or  a 
feverish  headache  only;  or  it  may  be  that  the 
result  is  only  a  heavy,  sleepy  feeling,  which 
wastes  a  whole  day  of  valuable  time.  Every  day 
of  our  short  life  should  count  for  something,  and 
to  lose  it  because  one  ate  the  wrong  food  is 
foolish  waste. 

3.  The  disturbing  effect  of  mental  states. 
Bearing  in  mind  that  the  object  of  life  is  the 

production  of  energy,  of  power  to  work,  to  think, 

32 


Lesson    VII  33 

to  enjoy,  progress  in  civilization  would  natu- 
rally be  an  increase  of  this  power  in  each  indi- 
vidual, and  one  would  expect  that  the  preparation 
of  food  would  be  so  developed  as  to  permit  this 
gain  in  power.  We  are  taught  that  this  is  what 
the  art  of  cookery  has  done  for  us.  In  some 
cases  it  is  true,  especially  where  scientific  research 
has  found  out  the  chemical  and  physical  changes 
at  the  basis  of  the  cookery. 

For  instance,  the  soaking  of  starch  in  fat,  the 
cooking  of  white  of  egg,  the  frying  of  meat,  ren- 
der the  food  material  more  difficult  of  solution, 
and  therefore  a  larger  part  may  escape  digestion 
altogether.  But  this  depends  upon  the  strength 
of  digestion  of  the  individual;  to  some  persons 
it  apparently  makes  no  difference. 

Again,  cooking  is  supposed  to  produce  ap- 
petizing flavors,  as  the  roasting  of  coffee,  the 
toasting  of  bread,  the  broiling  of  steak ;  but 
sometimes,  as  in  the  steam  cooking  of  cereals 
and  some  vegetables,  flavor  is  lost,  and  artificial 
flavor,  less  wholesome,  needs  to  be  added  to 
satisfy  the  palate. 

The  keeping  qualities  of  some  foods  are 
lessened  by  the  addition  of  the  water  needed  in 
cooking ;  for  instance,  cereals,  dried  beans,  etc. 


34  Food  and  Diet 

In  other  cases  cooking  preserves  the  foods, 
killing  the  molds,  yeasts,  and  bacteria  often 
found  with  the  edible  materials.  In  some  cases 
this  cooking  lessens  the  digestibility,  as  is 
undoubtedly  the  case  with  milk  as  infants' 
food. 

Frying  an  oyster  in  batter  is  a  case  where  the 
outer  coating  is  made  less  digestible  by  cooking. 

Well-baked  bread  gives  a  more  digestible 
starch  product,  a  less  digestible  gluten. 

Of  wrong  mixtures  it  is  not  easy  to  predict. 
The  effect  is  largely  bound  up  with  the  third 
cause,  ix,,  mental  attitude.  Usually  we  object  to 
milk  with  salads,  especially  lobster  salad,  because 
the  milk  is  liable  to  be  curdled  into  hard  lumps, 
but  it  is  probable  also  that  in  this  case,  as  in 
others,  a  wrong  chemical  decomposition,  not 
clearly  understood,  sometimes  takes  place,  giving 
toxines  or  poisonous  substances. 

In  some  cases  of  illness  these  toxines  may  be 
in  the  food,  but  in  most  they  are  produced  after 
it  is  eaten. 

The  reason  for  this  bad  result  is  the  third 
cause  of  trouble,  the  inhibiting  effect  of  mental 
emotion,  or  of  bodily  condition  on  the  secretion 


Lesson    VII  35 

of  the  digestive  juices.  Fear,  anger,  grief,  even 
depression  or  lack  of  cheerfulness,  prevent,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  the  flow  of  these  fluids. 

Extreme  cold  demands  all  the  energy  of  the 
body  to  keep  up  internal  heat,  and  none  is  left 
for  digestion.  Exhaustion  of  nerve  force  leaves 
none  for  the  work  of  more  production  of  energy. 

Poisons  absorbed  into  the  blood  hinder  the 
necessary  chemical  changes. 

Inflammation  of  the  mucous  membrane  pre- 
vents the  passage  of  the  fluids. 

The  chief  object  of  the  thorough  mastication 
of  the  food  and  its  treatment  with  saliva  in  the 
mouth  is  to  protect  the  stomach  from  overwork. 
The  thoroughness  with  which  the  stomach  pre- 
pares the  food  for  the  final  act  of  digestion, 
intestinal  absorption,  depends  upon  the  amount 
given  it  to  do.  It  would  seem  as  if  man  might 
learn  this  lesson  readily,  but  the  fact  is  that  the 
average  human  being  bolts  his  food  and  washes 
it  down  regardless  of  all  physiological  law. 

A  reason  for  a  certain  variety  in  diet  is  that 
each  class  of  food  seems  to  stimulate  the  secre- 
tion of  that  fluid  which  is  needed  to  convert  it 
into   suitable    body    food.     For   instance,    meat 


36  Food  and  Diet 

seems  to  excite  a  flow  of  juice,  large  in  quantity 
but  poor  in  ferments,  while  bread  causes  a  scanty 
but  concentrated  flow,  which  is  rich  in  ferment. 
The  formation  of  fixed  digestive  habits  is 
seen  to  be  possible,  and  is  to  be  avoided.  Hutch- 
ison says  this  fact  may  explain  why  sudden 
changes  in  diet  are  to  be  avoided. 

ILLUSTRATIVE    MATERIAL    FOR  THE   SEVENTH   LESSON 

Examples  of  food  spoiled  in  cooking  are  fried 
egg  albumen,  browned  fat  of  meat,  soggy  bread, 
highly  seasoned  croquettes. 

Make  out  experiments  for  a  study  of  the 
composition  of  and  effects  of  heat  upon  food 
mixtures. 

Show  examples  of  wrong  mixtures. 

Make  out  lists  of  helps  to  nutrition  and 
hindrances  to  nutrition. 

From  the  available  text-books  write  out  a 
concise  but  clear  statement  of  the  course  of  food 
in  the  body  and,  so  far  as  is  known,  of  its 
decomposition  in  the  body. 


LESSON   VIII 

THERE  is  some  reason  to  believe  that  better 
health  might  be  the  rule  if  the  food  were 
less  mixed  at  a  meal,  if  the  single  stuffs  were 
better  cooked,  and  not  cut  up  and  worked  over 
so  much.  Not  so  much  fire  would  be  required, 
not  so  much  labor,  not  so  much  garbage  would 
be  left  to  poison  air  and  ground,  if  each  day 
only  perfect  dishes  were  served  at  our  family 
tables,  and  few  of  them.  There  could  be  found 
enough  combinations  to  go  through  the  month, 
and  thus  give  requisite  variety. 

The  world  is  full  of  theories,  and,  as  we  have 
seen,  people  have  very  individual  characteristics, 
but  there  are  two  reasons  why  we  find  so  many 
kinds  of  theories  about  food,  and  so  little  definite 
fact. 

I.  The  human  organism  is  so  highly  devel- 
oped that  it  can  adapt  itself  to  a  great  variety 
of  conditions.  A  man  cast  away  on  a  tropical 
island  or  lost  in  the  desert  will  not  flourish  at 
first   on    the    unusual   food,    but    soon    becomes 

37 


38  Food  and  Diet 

accustomed  to  it.  The  same  person  may  go 
from  the  tropics,  where  he  lives  largely  on  fruit, 
to  the  arctic  regions,  where  he  may  be  obliged 
to  live  chiefly  on  fat,  and  yet  keep  well.  If  the 
change  is  made  gradually,  no  ill  effect  necessarily 
follows.  If  made  suddenly,  trouble  results,  and 
that  is  because  of  the  second  reason  referred  to 
in  the  last  lesson. 

2.  Habit,  custom,  reconciles  the  living  being 
to  strange  conditions,  but  the  habit  once  formed, 
it  tends  to  preserve  those  conditions,  because 
an  effort  is  required  to  change  and  the  healthy 
body  abhors  waste  of  effort. 

It  is  most  desirable  to  form  good  habits  and 
to  accustom  the  body  to  variety  so  that  energy 
may  not  be  lost.  In  the  formation  of  habits 
the  mind  has  the  leading  part.  It  seems  to 
be  true  that  those  who  believe  in  the  use  of 
uncooked  food,  as  tending  to  more  refined  and 
spiritual  living,  soon  become  accustomed  to  the 
use  of  fruits  and  nuts  and  raw  grains,  and  get 
from  them  the  needed  nourishment.  Witness 
the  fruitarians  and  vegetarians. 

These  studies  of  fruit  and  nut  diet^  are  most 

^Bulletins  107  and  132,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture, 
Office  of  Experiment  Stations.  A.  B — Z  of  Our  Own  Nutrition. 
Fletcher. 


Lesson    VIII  39 

interesting  as  confirming  the  view  that  the  large 
amount  of  food  commonly  eaten  is  not  utilized 
in  the  body,  but  is  waste. 

It  seems  to  be  proved  that  health  and 
strength  and  brain  power  may  be  maintained  on 
a  little  more  than  half  the  food  value  commonly 
allowed  if  the  diet  is  of  pears,  apples,  bananas, 
raisins,  with   Brazil    nuts,  peanuts,  and  walnuts. 

The  addition  of  some  fresh  vegetables  with 
olive  oil  and  of  cereals  and  milk  makes  it  very 
possible  to  subsist  anywhere  without  the  troubl-e 
of  the  preparation  of  the  traditional  three  meals. 
Habit,  rather  than  physiological  necessity,  seems 
to  govern  our  eating. 

We  are  told  that  those  who  believe  that  it  is 
wrong  to  take  life  for  the  purpose  of  food  soon 
come  to  loathe  the  sight  and  taste  of  meat,  and 
sit  down  to  corn  and  beans  and  bread  with  a 
zest  quite  unaccountable  to  the  mixed  food  eater. 

The  human  body  obeys  the  brain  wonder- 
fully. But  it  must  be  remembered  that  habits 
require  time  to  become  second  nature,  and  that 
most  of  the  failures  we  see  in  the  testing  of  new 
diets  are  due  to  sudden  changes. 

It  is  easy  to  see  why  mankind  as  a  rule  lives 


40  Food  and  Diet 

on  a  mixed  diet.  According  to  states  and  con- 
ditions, the  body  will  more  readily  find  its  pref- 
erence among  a  dozen  materials  than  in  two. 
If  no  especial  care  is  given  to  the  diet,  then  a 
variety  of  all  kinds  brings  the  best  result  with 
the  least  waste  of  energy. 

But  there  are  a  limited  number  of  good  food 
materials,  and  a  limited  number  of  healthful 
ways  of  serving  them,  and  it  is  not  difficult  to 
exhaust  them  and  bring  on  a  feeling  of  dissatis- 
faction if  too  many  kinds  are  put  on  the  table 
in  one  day  or  at  one  meal. 

ILLUSTRATIVE    MATERIAL    FOR    THE    EIGHTH     LESSON 

Examples  of  what  might  serve  a  family  of 
six  for  a  week  if  the  appetite  had  not  been 
ruined  by  bad  habits  and  wrong  ideas. 

Examples  of  fruitarian  diet. 

Examples  of  vegetarian  diet  without  animal 
products. 

Examples  of  vegetarian  diet  with  milk,  butter, 
cheese. 

Example  of  satisfactory  diet. 


LESSON    IX 

PRINCIPLES    ON    WHICH     BILLS    OF    FARE    ARE    MADE 

THE  appetite  is  to  be  stimulated,  without  be- 
ing satisfied,  by  the  first  course,  bouillon 
rather  than  corn  soup.  The  warm  fluid  causes 
a  flow  of  the  gastric  juice  because  blood  pres- 
sure is  increased.  Relishes  like  olives  or  salted 
almonds  serve  to  remove  the  flavor  of  the  last 
dish,  cleanse  the  tongue  and  palate,  as  it  were, 
for  the  next  dish,  which  comes  as  a  fresh 
pleasure. 

The  sweet  (a  very  little  of  it)  serves  to  remove 
the  last  traces  of  the  oily  matter  of  the  salad 
or  the  fat  of  the  meat,  and  to  give  a  feeling  of 
sufficiency  and  satisfaction  with  the  meal. 

These  sensations  cannot  be  repeated  too 
many  times  within  an  hour  or  two  without  losing 
their  acuteness ;  hence  only  the  most  perfectly 
experienced  chef  may  dare  to  serve  more  than 
four  or  six  courses  at  one  meal. 

41 


42  Food  a7id  Diet 

Three  or  four  dishes  following  each  other, 
with  the  right  relish  before  the  first  and  s'^cond 
or  second  and  third,  is  the  wisest  plan. 

THE    PHILOSOPHY    OF    DINNERS 

The  various  elaborate  orders  and  services  from 
the  time  of  the  Renaissance  down,  may  be  con- 
densed to  eight  courses  and  three  "  services." 
Each  service  may  be  reduced  to  one  dish,  with 
its  adjuncts. 

Thudichum  gives  the  following  example:  — 
First  service : 

Soup,  hot  and  cold  hors  d'oeuvres. 
Fish. 

Side  dishes  {entrees). 
Joints  or  removes  {releves). 
Second  service : 

Roasts,  game,  or  fowl  (sometimes  includ- 
ing a  salad). 
Savoury  and  sweet  dishes  {entremets). 
Third  service : 
Cheese. 
Dessert. 
From  this  general  order   the   multitudinous 
bills  of  fare  have  been  evolved,  but  the  careful 


Lesson  IX  43 

housewife  may  console  herself  with  Thomas 
Walker's  dictum:  "It  is  , the  mode  I  wish  to 
recommend,  and  not  any  particular  dishes. 
Common  soup  made  at  home,  fish  of  little  cost, 
any  joints,  the  cheapest  vegetables,  some  happy 
and  inexpensive  introduction  like  the  crab,  and  a 
pudding — provided  everything  is  good  in  quality 
and  the  dishes  are  well  dressed  and  served  hot  and 
in  succession,  with  their  adjuncts  —  will  insure  a 
quantity  of  enjoyment  which  no  one  need  be 
afraid  to  offer."  ^ 

Before  the  nineteenth  century  kings  and 
statesmen  were  the  great  patrons  of  good  cook- 
ery. The  art  probably  culminated  in  the  seven- 
teenth century  in  France,  and  if  we  wish  to  learn 
the  secret  of  well-made  and  w^ell-served  dishes, 
we  must  study  the  records  of  that  earlier  time.^ 

Thudichum,  p.  649,  says,  "  Every  bill  of  fare 
must  be  the  result  of  all  kinds  of  practical  con- 
siderations, and  should  never  be  a  theoretical 
prescription  culled  from  lists." 

"  The  objects  for  which  menus  are  published 
in   modern  prints  are   mainly  of  an  advertising 

1 "  The  Art  of  Dining,"  Hayward. 

2  Works  by  Soyer,  DeSalis,  Brillat-Savarin,  and  others. 


^4  Food  and  Diet 

nature,  and  as  printed  they  convey  absolutely  no 
information  at  all." 


ILLUSTRATIVE    MATERIAL    FOR    THE    NINTH    LESSON 

Many  menus,  as  found  in  the  locality. 
Exercises  in  preparing  others  after  definite 
principles. 


LESSON    X 

IT  is  sometimes  necessary  to  provide  food  at  a 
limited  cost.  In  such  case  it  is  absolutely 
necessary  to  know  two  things : 

First,  the  approximate  composition  of  the 
food  material;  and,  second,  to  know  food  syno- 
nyms, or  those  things  which  may  be  substituted 
for  each  other.  Otherwise  the  family  will  be 
sure  to  suffer;  and  we  learned  at  the  beginning 
that  the  right  food  was  essential  to  health,  to 
power  of  work,  to  capacity  for  pleasure. 

If  it  is  as  wise  for  all  to  know  something  of 
the  value  of  daily  food  as  of  the  value  of  the 
currency  in  their  pockets,  it  is  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  those  who  have  few  dollars  to  spend  to 
know  how  to  get  their  money's  worth  without 
sacrificing  life  and  health. 

A  large  part  of  the  art  of  cooking  consists  in 
making  inexpensive  food  material  palatable  and 
attractive. 

The  first  step  is  to  disabuse  ourselves  of  the 

45 


46  Food  and  Diet 

idea  that  "  cheap  "  food  is  poor  food.  A  sub- 
stance is  inexpensive  for  several  reasons,  chief  of 
which  is  its  abundance ;  then  its  power  of  keep- 
ing and  of  being  transported  without  loss;  the 
nearness  of  the  market  to  the  place  of  consump- 
tion ;    often   its   bulk   in  proportion    to    its  food 

•value.  Milk  is  dear  food  in  the  city  because 
87  per  cent  of  water  must  be  brought  scores  of 
miles  in  wagon  and  car  to  get  1 3  per  cent  of  food 
material  to  the  consumer. 

Wheat  flour  is  cheap  because  87  per  cent  of 
it  is  food  material,  and  it  will  keep  safely  while 
stored  or  transported. 

Products  of  sun  and  wind  and  rain  and  soil, 
with  very  little  of  man's  labor,  are  inexpensive 
where  they  grow ;  and  those  that  will  bear  keep- 

'  ing  and  transportation  are  inexpensive  anywhere 
on  steamboat  or  railroad  lines. 

Products  which  involve  many  transformations 
of  raw  material,  as  flesh  of  cattle  which  eat  the 
first  products  of  the  soil,  and  which  requires 
much  handling,  and,  besides,  is  perishable ;  deli- 
cate fruits  and  vegetables  grown  with  a  shelter 
and  much  human  labor  are  expensive,  not  be- 
cause they  are  better  food  material,  but  because 
they  cost  more  to  produce. 


Lesson  X  47 

As  an  example  of  what  may  be  done  if  there  is 
an  incentive  to  stimulate  interest  and  cause  satis- 
faction, the  following  is  taken  from  Bulletin  129, 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Office 
of  Experiment  Stations : 

"  In  February,  1902,  the  students  of  the  Bible 
Normal  College,  situated  then  in  Springfield, 
Mass.  (now  in  Hartford,  Conn.,  and  affiliated  with 
the  Hartford  Theological  Seminary  and  desig- 
nated School  of  Religious  Pedagogy),  voted  to 
save  a  sum  of  money,  which  they  desired  to  raise 
for  a  special  object,  by  reducing  the  cost  of  their 
table  board.  They  had  been  paying  5^3  per 
week  for  table  board  at  the  time,  or  very  nearly 
43  cents  per  person  per  day,  which,  of  course, 
included  the  cost  of  fuel,  preparation,  and  serv- 
ice, estimated  to  be  10.6  cents  per  person  per 
day.  Learning  that  it  has  been  found  possible 
to  provide  a  balanced  and  nourishing  diet  for 
10  cents  per  man  per  day  for  the  raw  food,  they 
entered  eagerly  into  an  experiment  with  a  diet 
to  cost  that  amount  for  food  materials  only,  the 
cost  of  preparation,  etc.,  to  remain  the  same  as 
before,  making  the  total  cost  of  the  daily  food 
as   served    20.6  cents   per  person,  or  22.4  cents 


48  Food  and  Diet 

less  than  their  ordinary  diet.  There  were  thirty 
students  interested  in  this  project,  and  it  was 
planned  to  continue  the  investigation  three  days, 
as  this  would  suffice  to  save  the  ^20  desired. 

"  It  was  believed  that  the  results  of  a  dietary 
study  of  the  family  during  this  period  would  be 
of  some  value,  as  showing  some  of  the  possibil- 
ities of  a  practical  application  of  the  results  of 
nutrition  investigations.  The  meals  provided 
were  enjoyed,  and  at  the  end  of  three  days, 
although  the  desired  sum  had  been  saved  and 
there  was  no  longer  this  incentive,  all  the  per- 
sons concerned  were  sufficiently  interested  in 
the  trial  to  ask  to  have  it  continued  three  days 
longer  when  they  learned  that  the  results  for 
such  a  period  would  be  of  considerably  more 
value  from  a  scientific  standpoint  than  those  of 
a  study  carried  on  for  three  days  only.  The 
details  of   the  investigation  are  given   herewith. 

"  The  method  of  conducting  the  investigation 
was  essentially  the  same  as  that  usually  followed. 
After  a  study  of  the  available  food  supply  and 
the  cost  of  food  in  the  local  market,  menus  were 
prepared  which  it  was  believed  would  be  fairly 
satisfactory,  and  which  would  fulfill  the  require- 


Lesson  X  49 

ments  as  regards  cost  and  nutritive  value.  The 
amounts  of  the  various  materials  which  it  was 
calculated  would  be  required  during  the  period 
were  then  set  aside  to  be  used  as  needed,  the 
plan  being  to  provide  generously  of  the  chief 
and  less  expensive  dishes,  with  enough  of  the 
more  expensive  foods  to  give  the  needed  variety. 
Whatever  material  was  left  at  the  close  of  the 
study  was  subtracted  from  the  amount  provided, 
and  the  difference  was  assumed  to  represent  the 
amount  used.  Generally  speaking,  the  estimated 
amounts  proved  amply  sufficient,  but  it  was 
found  necessary  during  the  study  to  purchase 
some  articles  in  addition  to  those  planned  for, 
and  all  such  foods  were  also  included  in  estimat- 
ing the  total  amounts  eaten. 

"  None  of  the  foods  were  analyzed.  The 
composition  of  all  but  two  of  the  different 
articles  was  assumed  from  average  values  for 
similar  food  materials  (United  States  Depart- 
ment of  Agriculture,  Office  of  Experiment  Sta- 
tions, Bulletin  28,  revised).  The  composition  of 
the  chocolate  candy  (fudge)  was  calculated  from 
that  of  the  materials  used  in  making  it,  and  the 
composition    of   apple    jelly   was    taken   from   a 


50  Food  and  Diet 

compilation  not  yet  published.  The  assumed 
values  for  the  composition  of  the  materials  eaten 
in  this  study  are  included  in  Table  29  of  the 
Appendix. 

"  The  menus  for  the  different  days  covered 
by  the  study  were  as  follows : 

Saturday,  February  8 

Breakfast:  Oatmeal  and  top  of  milk,  fish  cakes,  toast  (with  a  little 
butter),  prunes,  milk  and  cereal  coffee. 

Dinner :  Beef  soup,  croutons,  beans  (baked  with  pork),  brown  bread, 
apricot  shortcake. 

Supper:  Sandwiches  (cheese  and  jelly),  white  and  graham  bread, 
(no  butter),  sliced  bananas,  milk. 

Sunday,  February  9 

Breakfast:  Commeal  mush  and  top  of  milk,  baked  beans,  buns,  milk, 

and  cereal  coffee. 
Dinner:       Split  pea  soup  and  crackers  (crisped),  potted  beef,  brown 

sauce,   baked    potatoes,    bread,    rice,   with    milk    and 

sugar. 
Supper:       Brown  bread  sandwiches  (with  a  little  butter),  white  bread 

sandwiches  with  date  and  peanut  filling,  without  butter, 

cocoa,  popcorn  salted. 

Monday,  February  10 

Breakfast:  Oatmeal,  with  top  of  milk,  cream  toast,  cereal  coffee. 
Dinner:       Baked   bean   soup,  crisp   crackers,  Hamburg   steak   balls, 

brown  sauce,  hominy,  turnip,  peanuts,  and  dates. 
Supper :       Potato  and  beet  salad,  gingerbread,  cheese,  bread,  milk. 


Lesson  X  51 

Tuesday,  February  ii 

Breakfast :  Wheat  breakfast  food  and  dates,  creamed  codfish,  muffins 
(with  little  butter),  milk,  and  cereal  coffee. 

Dinner :       Beef  stew,  with  biscuits,  bread  pudding,  bread. 

Supper:  Scalloped  meat  and  potato,  bread  (with  butter),  prunes, 
chocolate  candy  "  fudge." 

Wednesday,  February  12 

Breakfast:  Oatmeal,  with  top  of  milk,  hash,  corn  cake,  milk,  and  cereal 

coffee. 
Dinner:       Vegetable    soup,    croutons,    baked    stuffed    beef's    heart, 

brown   sauce,   rice,  cornstarch   blanc   mange,  caramel 

sauce. 
Supper:        Potato   and   celery  salad,  white  and   graham   bread,  fried 

cornmeal  mush,  syrup. 

Thursday,  February  13 

Breakfast:  Cornmeal  mush,  with  top  of  milk,  hashed  meat  on  toast, 

milk,  and  cereal  coffee. 
Dinner :       Salt  salmon,  drawn  butter  sauce,  baked  potatoes,  parsnips, 

bread,  evaporated  apple  shortcake. 
Supper:       Cold   sliced   beef's  heart,  creamed  potatoes,  cocoa,  bread 

(white  and  graham),  ginger  snaps- 

"  The  family  in  this  experiment  consisted  of 
thirty  students,  twenty-six  women  and  four  men, 
ranging  in  age  from  twenty-five  to  forty-five 
years." 

The  Science  and  Art  of  Cookery  combined 
should  enable  us  so  to  prepare  the  inexpensive 


52  Food  and  Diet 

as  to  produce  the  most  satisfactory  flavor, 
texture,  temperature,  and  consistency,  and  to  use 
the  expensive  to  enhance  the  pleasure  of  the 
table  just  sufficiently,  and  not  to  the  injury  of 
the  aim  of  all  living,  the  production  of  the  happy, 
healthy,  efficient  human  being. 

ILLUSTRATIVE    MATERIAL    FOR    THE    TENTH    LESSON 

Exercises  in  selection  of  the  satisfactory  com- 
binations in  a  variety  of  ways  suited  to  the  tastes 
of  the  class  and  the  markets  in  the  locality. 

A  few  examples  of  bills  of  fare  covering  three 
weeks'  time,  because  the  members  of  the  family 
will  not  keep  tally  of  the  menu,  and  know  just 
what  to  expect  day  by  day. 


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WILL  BE  ASSESSED    FOR    FAILURE  TO   RETURN 
THIS    BOOK   ON    THE   DATE  DUE.    THE  PENALTY 
WILL  INCREASE  TO  50  CENTS  ON  THE  FOURTH 
DAY    AND    TO    $1.00    ON    THE    SEVENTH     DAY 
OVERDUE. 

MAY  2  1935 

SP!^  A^Vi^ 

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'■^£^,..: 

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IWHT    1  U  ZUUO 

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